Back Pains
by LiveTake
Summary: How was it that young 18-year old Lucy Heartfilia was beginning to experience such ridiculous back pain? No, it's not what you're thinking, pervert...but even if it was, that was definitely only a part of it. She knew, without a doubt, that she could pinpoint the direct source of her troubles.
1. Chapter 1

Lucy Heartfilia. 18 year old Celestial Spirit Mage. Friendly, cheerful, strong-willed, and loyal if one was to ask those closely associated with her. However, she was beginning experience a...problem.

Lucy Heartfilia. 18 year old Celestial Spirit Mage...currently experiencing killer back pain. Now, Lucy knew that this was a problem commonly associated with females who were...well-endowed, like her. She swore, however, that this couldn't be the problem. And if it was, it had to be only a _part_ of the problem. Lucy could, in her mind at least, definitely pinpoint the direct source of the problem. All one would have to do was look at her bed...or more precisely, what was _on_ her bed. Or even more precisely, _who _was on her bed. No, it wasn't Lucy Heartfilia, the rightful owner of that soft, comfortable bed. It was her teammate, Natsu Dragneel. Given how most of their missions turned out, and how much destruction was usual left in their - no - _his_ wake, though, others would probably prefer to call them Partners in Crime.

Whatever the case may be, and despite the fact that he was the cause of about 89.1% of her problems in life, Lucy knew she could never stay mad at Natsu. Despite driving her nuts, costing her probably millions of Jewels in rent money by this point, and generally ignoring her advice and doing whatever the heck he wanted most of the time...Lucy could never muster enough vindictiveness to hold a grudge against her friend. She knew Natsu was the cause of about 89.1% of her problems in life, but she always had to begrudgingly admit right afterwards that he was also the source of so much of her happiness. His signature fang-baring smile never failed to shine through even the darkest of her hours, and she knew she could always count on him to support her and lift her up, even when she was most down. For all intents and purposes, she was genuinely appreciative of the salmon-haired Dragon Slayer, and definitely perceptive of how much he meant to her.

But this was the last straw. More and more, mostly due to her ridiculous back pain, Lucy began to realize that an increasing amount of her nights were spent on the cold, hard, floor of her apartment, rather than her soft and cozy bed. Despite her initial mortification the first time Natsu had snuck into her bed, she found it...cute, in a way. And despite how much she wanted to tell herself it wasn't true, she knew she still found his sleeping face to be one of the most adorable things she'd ever laid eyes upon. But for the sake of her back, things had to stop here. On this particular night, Natsu had chose to sleep on top of the covers. And so, with a forceful yank of the cover, Natsu was sent crashing down to the floor which Lucy had been relegated to sleeping upon for many consecutive nights now.

"What the heck, Lucy!?" the fire-breathing pyromaniac Dragon Slayer exclaimed with surprise and agony in his eyes.

"Natsu, we need to talk." was the simple explanation offered by a rather stern-looking Lucy Heartfilia.

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Read, review, or do whatever you like :P. Chapter 2 will be up within a day.


	2. Chapter 2

The massive shock etched on the Dragon Slayer's face turned into a wide-eyed look of mild confusion as he stared into the eyes of his partner. Lucy felt herself melting _just _a bit under Natsu's gaze, but adamantly refused to give in to the quickened heartbeat that Natsu's penetrating stare was causing her. She knew that if her suffering was to end, she would have to be steadfast. No softening was to be allowed.

Lost in her mind's attempts to steer herself towards her cause, she didn't notice when Natsu looked up, changed his expression turned into a soft grin, and asked,

"What's up Lucy?"

Lucy almost jumped as her partner momentarily scared her out of her wits. She sighed to herself. How did he manage to change his mood that quickly all the time? She really needed to be more on guard around the unpredictable Natsu Dragneel. Looking down at her partner, who was sitting against the frame of her bed, she felt a determination to solve her problem once and for all.

"Natsu," the blonde Celestial Spirit Mage began, trying to keep up her stern visage as much as she could. "I've been experiencing a lot of back pain lately you see, and I think you're -"

"Well, yeah," the ever excitable Natsu interrupted. "Gray told me one time that that happens a lot to girls with big -"

"Natsu!" This time it was Lucy's turn to interrupt her friend as she shrieked, feeling like she was about to explode. "That's not what I meant."

Natsu scared at her in confusion. Knowing that the dense idiot she called her best friend wasn't going to figure this out for himself, Lucy continued.

"See...you're part of the reason why my back hurts so much lately..." she trailed off towards the end, and inwardly cursed herself. _Is it really this hard for me to tell Natsu off about this? I want him off my bed so I can sleep on it again...don't I?_

"A-Am I!?" Natsu stammered, causing his partner to look curiously at him. "I-I'd never wanna hurt you like that, Lucy. I swear!"

Lucy looked down at the babbling dummy before her and let out a deep sigh. She knew it. She really couldn't bring herself to tell him to get out and leave her be. How could someone whom she cared for so much, and cared so much for her in return, cause her so much pain. Lucy's cheeks reddened as she gazed at the look of despair on Natsu's face. _Is the thought of hurting me this distressing to him? _she wondered to herself.

"Natsu." Lucy began, deciding to come clean as she kneeled in front of her partner, bringing them to eye level. "It's just that you've been sleeping in my bed for a lot these past nights now, and I've had to sleep on the cold, hard floor during that time...you know?" _There,_ she told herself. _It's out in the open now. I wonder how he'll react._

Lucy once again got the scare of a lifetime, for the second time that night, when she left her thoughts to find Natsu's face _extremely_ close to hers.

She felt like she was about to burn to a crisp under Natsu's gaze as his inquiring eyes bore intently into hers. He looked away, however, sighed (much to Lucy's surprise), and offered her...an apology.

"I'm sorry, Lucy." he told her flatly, his voice sounding uncharacteristically defeated. "I don't wanna hurt you. You know I'd never do anything to harm you, right?"

Lucy felt her heart beginning to melt as Natsu asked his last question. She offered him a meek nod and a soft smile of assurance.

Natsu began to get up and leave, and while this was what Lucy had _thought_ was what she wanted, the downcast look in his eyes made her reach out and grab his arm. The move shocked her as much as it did Natsu. She had done that almost upon instinct.

"Sit." she directed him simply, and Natsu again assumed his position sitting before the person who was beginning to make him feel a little weird inside. Keeping her grip on Natsu's arm, Lucy spoke up. "It's not that I mind you being here, Natsu. Really I don't. I guess the back pain was just an excuse for me to ask you..."

"Ask me what?" the Dragon Slayer inquired of his close friend.

"Why?" she said simply.

Natsu blinked at her confusedly. Figuring that he wasn't going to connect the dots, she resumed.

"Why do you sleep here all the time? Coming over to visit, I get, but what does coming over here to sleep do for you?" Lucy looked up to try and get a reaction from Natsu. Instead, what she found was the pink-haired dummy giving her a look she'd never seen before. It almost looked...embarrassed. She decided to press further to get the answers she sought.

"Is it because your place is so messy?" she offered with a soft giggle. "I swear, I can come over there from time to time and clean it for yo- Huh!?" she squealed as she looked up at Natsu to find that he'd placed his hand on top of her head. As mortifying as it was, it felt...nice. It was almost like being petted. _Damnit, shut up Lucy!_ she reprimanded her inner self for allowing such a thought to form in her head.

"It's not that, Lucy." Natsu began. "Thanks for the offer, though. And thanks for that last time when you cleaned up me and Happy's place." he concluded, flashing her one of his signature smiles.

She pouted at him, recalling the time she went through the trouble of scrubbing his place clean, only to have him not come back that day because he was too busy waiting for _her_ at her apartment. It...probably wasn't that great of a prank, now that she thought about it.

The Fire Dragon Slayer let his eyes linger on Lucy's face. _Wow, she's cute when she's angry like that..wait, what!?_ Natsu reddened. Cute!? Since when did he find anyone...cute? However, against his will, with his body being more in-tune with his innermost thoughts than he was, he found his hand beginning to run itself along the top of his partner's hair. _Am I petting her right now?_ It felt so wrong to be doing this, but so right at the same time. He wished inwardly that they could stay like this forever. Okay, maybe not forever, he had people to fight and things to destroy, but he had to admit that being alone with his partner and...petting her, was quite nice.

"It's just that..." Natsu began, before trailing off and gazing into the distance. _How am I going to say this without sounding like a total weirdo?_

"Natsu." Lucy spoke up again. Looking at Natsu with what he swore were the most beautiful features he'd ever gazed upon. "Just tell me." She encouraged him, simply.

Letting out a deep breath, the not-so-great-with-words Natsu Dragneel began to explain himself.

"It's just that...I miss you sometimes, Lucy."

Lucy perked up upon hearing these words. _Did he...really just say that?_

"You see enough of me during the day, don't you?" the Celestial Spirit Mage offered gently. "We hang out in the guild together, we do missions together, you annoy me in my own house and somehow that's...together. But you still...miss me?"

The Dragon Slayer rubbed the back of his pink hair and gave Lucy a heart-melting smile. It was so energetic, just like Natsu, and yet his smile seemed almost nervous, she thought to herself.

"I know it's weird, Luce." Natsu admitted, eliciting a blush from his partner. _When did he start calling me that?_ she wondered.

"But I really like being with you. It makes me happy. And being over here reminds me of you. It's hard to sleep when I don't sense you being around. Your bed smells great, just like you do. I guess...I just wanna be close to you?" the Dragon Slayer concluded, though his last words were spoken rather softly. He looked down to gauge how his partner was reacting, only to find her face redder than a tomato as she stared into his eyes. Looking at her was beginning to elicit feelings akin to those of being on a moving vehicle for Natsu, though this particular feeling was warmer and nicer. He was beginning to like it a little.

"Anyways, I tried talking to Gramps and Mira about this" Natsu continued. "Or rather, they get up in my face about this sort of thing, and I always thought what they were saying made no sense, but..."

"But?" Lucy managed to squeak out, in sheer disbelief over what she was hearing from her dense, idiotic, stupid, cute, combustible, sweet partner.

"But I guess they were right. I...think I'm a little in love with you." he concluded, a nervous smile plastered on his face. "If you don't feel like hanging with me for a while after all this, I understand, but I really just wanted to-"

"Don't be silly, you moron" Lucy cut a surprised Natsu off, as she stretched out her arms and placed them behind Natsu's neck, pressing her forehead against his. Locked together like this, Natsu was forced to stare deep into Lucy's eyes. The Dragon Slayer gulped at the close proximity being shared between him and his partner. He felt himself becoming intoxicated by her smell, her presence, her beauty.

"Okay, I think I'm a lot in love with you." Natsu amended, not sure of what he was trying to prove with that statement. He just needed her to know.

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Okay, so I uploaded chapter 1 and then said I was going to upload chapter 2 within a day...and then promptly took over two weeks to do so. :P Teaches me about making promises about these things I guess. Anyway, chapter 3 will DEFINITELY be up within the day...because I already have it written! So yeah, read, (please) review, or do whatever you like.


	3. Chapter 3

The Dragon Slayer lifted a hand up to cup his best friend's cheek, as he traced her delicate features with his fingertips.

"You're beautiful, Lucy." he complimented her, his voice barely a whisper as he felt his voice being taken away by the Celestial Spirit Mage's mere presence. Lucy looked up into her partner's honest eyes, and felt her heart bang unrelentingly against her chest.

"I..." Lucy began, trailing off before deciding to let her partner know just how she felt. "I've never been in love before. But whenever I'm around you, I feel safe, like nothing can happen to me as long as you're here. You make me feel complete, Natsu."

The Fire Dragon Slayer stared at his partner in awe as she made her confession. Somehow, he felt like something was missing, however. He couldn't quite put his finger on it...

"I love you too, you big dummy."

_Oh yeah, she was supposed to say that back to me._

"Even if you're the cause of about 89.1% of my problems." the blonde decided to assert with a light-hearted giggle.

"I always knew you were a book nerd." Natsu thought out loud. "But now, you're a math nerd too?"

Lucy sighed inwardly. _Am I really in love with someone who's calling me a nerd?_ However, the Celestial Spirit Mage knew as well as anyone that if there was one thing about her which couldn't be denied, it was her innermost feelings.

A comfortable silence washed over the two of them as they locked eyes with each other and felt themselves moving closer together, almost on instinct. As their faces made the slow journey towards the other, Natsu suddenly felt something plop on his head.

"What the-" he began, before looking down at Lucy, whose eyes were dilated in terror.

"L-Lucy, what is it!?" he stammered, before looking up to see a slight creature with wings flying around, illuminated by the moonlight of his partner's window.

"Happy!?" the newly intimate pair exclaimed as the flying Exceed continued to make circles around the room with a goofy grin plastered on his face. He flew around a few more times for good measure before plopping down on the bed as the couple stared at him. His face suddenly turned serious, before his lips curled upward into a creepy smile.

"You two llllliiiiike each other." the cat stated, his signature phrase ringing true this time.

Lucy paled in horror while Natsu blinked at his furry companion. After a long period of shared silence, the Dragon Slayer chose to speak up.

"Nope." Natsu began, causing the other two in the room to look at him curiously. He flashed his signature smile of unbridled joy and passion as he pulled Lucy closer to his body, and used his other hand to pat Happy on the head. "We love each other, right Lucy?"

The blonde Celestial Spirit Mage's heartbeat quickened, and she felt herself heating up, even more than the close proximity with her Fire Dragon Slayer friend was already making her. But still, despite her discomfort, she couldn't help but smile brightly as she looked up at her best friend, though she figured they were more than that now, and then at his frustrating, talking cat. It was almost as like they were a family. A really weird one, but a family nonetheless.

"Well, it's getting late, Happy." Natsu suddenly spoke up.

"Aye, sir!" the blue feline exclaimed as he stretched tiredly.

The Fire Dragon Slayer helped up the blushing blonde in front of him. And then promptly jumped into her bed, yawning contentedly.

Lucy looked on as Natsu prepared to go to sleep before grabbing his shoulders and forcing him to stay awake.

"What is it, Lucy, I'm sleepy" Natsu whined at the object of his affections.

"Natsu, I thought the original point of our conversation was my back proble- Mmph!" Lucy had begun to explain herself before she felt herself cut off by a sudden force upon her lips. _He's...kissing me._ she thought hazily to herself, feeling herself melt into him. The Dragon Slayer pulled away and graced her with an unbelievably wide smile.

"Come on, Luce." Natsu started. "Two people in love can't sleep in the same bed with each other?"

With this statement, even though coming from Natsu it was most likely completely innocent, Lucy Heartfilia felt her heart trying to leap out of its cage.

_Forget my back pains. Being with this moron is going to give me heart problems..._

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There you have it, everybody. Chapter 3 :D Read, (please!) review, or do whatever you like. I think I already have an idea for my next fic. Reviews are helpful, everyone! Also, I've been wondering about the demographic of the people who read/write these things. I'm thinking that most of you are probably female, but I don't know. Just wondering since I'm a dude and I'm wondering how rare/commonplace that is. Not that I have a bias either way, I just like to write, lol. Anyway, feedback is appreciated!


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